Three parolees headed back to prison for robbery convictions

Three parolees who robbed a woman and her boyfriend in what prosecutors described as a love-triangle dispute are going back to prison.

Erie County Judge Thomas P. Franczyk today imposed prison terms of 5½ years on Earl Stone of Amherst Street and five years on his co-defendants, Ted Anderson of Earl Place and Brandon Close of Burnie Lane.

The defendants, all 21 years of age, pleaded guilty in December to first-degree robbery for taking $170, a smartphone and diamond earrings from the victims March 12 in front of the woman’s home on Peace Street.

Stone admitted that he robbed and pistol-whipped the woman’s boyfriend. The woman was previously Stone’s girlfriend.

Police arrested the three men and recovered the stolen items.

The judge said he imposed the longest sentence on Stone because he was the motivating force in the crime.